Will Glendale break Nicolet partnership at Maslowski Park?

Glendale officials are losing confidence in Nicolet High School's promise to build three baseball fields at Richard E. Maslowski Glendale Community Park. Now they are entertaining offers from Dominican High School and any other organizations willing to develop recreational facilities at the park.
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Glendale officials break ground on Richard E. Maslowski Community Park in June 2016. Pictured from left are Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy, Alderman Richard Wiese, former City Administrator Richard Maslowski and Nicolet School District Superintendent Robert Kobylski.(Photo: Staff photo by Jeff Rumage)

GLENDALE - City officials are losing confidence in Nicolet High School's promise to build three baseball fields at the city's new park. Now they are entertaining offers from Dominican High School and any other organizations willing to develop recreational facilities at the park.

Glendale and Nicolet High School officials have been working together for four years on the creation of Richard E. Maslowski Glendale Community Park, which opened six months ago at the far west end of Bender Road. For its part, Nicolet promised to fund two softball fields, a baseball field, the locker rooms and half the cost of the bathrooms and storage rooms in the community building.

Nicolet has still not delivered on the three ball fields, and Glendale fronted the $980,000 needed to fund Nicolet's portion of the community building.

Waiting game

Nicolet officials say they can't finance the new ball fields until the property with tennis courts and soccer fields on the other side of I-43 is sold. The upper field property, just south of the Pick 'n Save at 6969 N. Port Washington Road, has garnered two offers, but both of those deals have fallen through.

Glendale Alderman John Gelhard said a third offer is in the works for the upper field property. Nicolet's attorney, Michael Ostermeyer, said he could not disclose whether a third offer has been made, but he said the Nicolet School Board on Nov. 27 approved a resolution reauthorizing the sale of the upper field property.

Gelhard is one of several Glendale aldermen eager to see fields built at Maslowski Park. In a memo to the common council, Gelhard said he has been told that Nicolet plans to pay Glendale the $980,000 that the city fronted for the locker rooms in the community building and then invest another $50,000 for a baseball field "just to get people down to the park."

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The new Johnson Controls Community Amphitheater provides three tiers of seating and a covered stage at Richard E. Maslowski Glendale Community Park.(Photo: Jeff Rumage/Now Media Group)

Gelhard said the council owes it to taxpayers to consider offers from other entities, such as Dominican High School. Officials from Dominican and Glendale met in October to discuss Dominican's interest in creating a multimillion dollar football/soccer/lacrosse field at Maslowski Park.

"I’m skeptical that Nicolet is ever going to be able to do this, and that's why I think we need to keep all of our options open. ... If someone wants to develop the land and has the money to do it, I think we have to listen to them," Gelhard told the common council on Dec. 11.

Accepting proposals

The rest of the common council seemed to agree with Gelhard. The council voted unanimously to accept proposals from any entity willing to develop the vacant land at Maslowski Park. The deadline for submissions is Feb. 1, 2018.

Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy said Maslowski Park's beer garden broke even last season, but the park still needs to bring in more traffic beyond the Music in the Glen summer concert series and visitors to the playground, veterans memorial and beer garden.

Kennedy said he is willing to consider offers from entities other than Nicolet, but he said the city does have an interest in Nicolet selling the upper field property, which he said could generate $10 million to $15 million in additional value after it is redeveloped.

Glendale City Administrator Rachel Reiss said Nicolet officials have indicated that if Glendale partners with another entity on the Maslowski Park property that they will not sell the upper field property and will instead use the land for their athletic facilities.